Separable fastener slider and method of making same



Dec. 16, 1930. R. H. NICHOLSQN 1,785,420

SEPARABLB FASTENER SLIDER AND METHOD OF KING SAIE Filed Oct. 12, 1928 IN V EN TOR.

BY Q

' ATTORNEY:

Patented Dec. 16, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT orrlcs ROBERT H. NICHOLSON, OF MEADVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO HOOKLESS FASTENER COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA SEPARABLE- FASTENER SLIDER AND 'METHOD OF MAKING SAME Application filed October 12, 1928. Serial No. 312,097.

This invention relates to separable fastener sliders and especially to one-piece sliders having inner and outer wings connected by an integral reinforce and provided with opposite side flanges between which the interlocking fastener members are guided.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved slider of this type and an economical method of producing same from a single piece of flat metal stock with fewer forming operations than heretofore, thereby eliminating errors incident to a greater number of operations, and producing sliders with more uniform accuracy at reduced cost.

Another object of the invention is to provide guide flanges having very hard wearresisting surfaces formed by coining same as distinguished from bending up the edges as heretofore, which also more effectively stiffens the wings of the slider.

Another object of the invention is to form' a slider in such a way that incidental burrs or fins will be formed only on external surfaces so that they can easily be removed by tumbling after the slider is completely formed.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved method of forming an integral pull attaching lug upon the outer face of one or both wings of the slider.

\Vith the above and other objects in view, the invention comprises the article and method of manufacture illustrated in the accompanying drawing, and hereinafter de- 5 scril ed and particularly set forth in the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a top perspective view showing a strip of flat metal stock with slider blanks coined therein;

Fig. 2 is a bottom perspective view showing integral pu'llattaching lugs partially formed on the opposite face of the stock;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the coined slider blank with the waste metal shown in outline;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the raised reinforce connecting the wings, and the partially formed pull-attaching lug;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the coined slider blank after its separation from the stock, and before bending;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary plan view showing the thickened reinforce connecting the wings of the slider; and

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of'the completed Slider.

In carrying out the invention the slider is formed from flat metal stock which may be in the form of a strip 1, shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The blanks are formed by subjecting the strip 1 to pressure between coining dies ono of which is recessed to conform to the flanged interior face of the slider, and the other of which is recessed to receive an attaching lug which is coined to project from the outer face of either or both wings of the slider.

In the coining operation, one of suitable dies acting under coining pressure forms on the upper slde of the stock the raised flanges 2; the partially raised wings 3 having chamfered edges 4 at their outer ends and chamfered edges 5 at their inner ends; and the raised diamond-shaped rib or thickened reinforce 6 connecting the two wings; while the cooperating die forms hollow pull attaching lug or lugs 9 on the opposite side of one or both wings. Also, in the same operation, the dies form a transverse groove 7 and an intersecting longitudinal groove 8 in the connecting reinforce 6, while forming the reinforce 6 on the narrow web connecting the wings 3. In forming the pull attaching lug 9 a thin web 11 is left at each side, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4 to be punched'out later as at 13 in igs. 3 and 7, to receive the desired style of pull member. In the coining operation the flat-faced flanges 2 are formed so that they extend inwardly from the .side edges of the wings, increasing in width or thickness from the ends toward the center. After the wings are bentto parallelism the inner edges of the flanges 2 cooperate with the sides of the integral reinforce or rib 6 to form diverging channels for 'guiding interlocking members, the reinforc e 6 also serving to maintain the wings in fixed spaced relation.

Figs.- 1 and 2 show a plurality of slider blanks coined in an elongated strip of flat metal stock and, if desired, a plurality of dies may be arranged side by side in a single press to simultaneously form the plurality of blanks and to shear same from the metal stock. It has been found that considerably less pressure is required in coining slider blanks by this method when operating the coining press at a speed equal-to that heretofore employed in forming slider blanks. In the shearing operation, the coined blanks are separated from the stock by punching in any well-known manner, as shown in Fig. 3, after which the blanks are ejected or allowed to drop through the openings 12 left in the waste or scrap material. After the coined slider blank is separated from the metal stock the thin webs 11 are punched out to provide the transverse opening 13 between the strap portion 10 of the lug 9 and the body of the blank, thus roviding means for attaching a suitable handle or pull member to the slider.

After the blank is separated from the scrap material, the integral thickened reinforce 6 is bent to bring the two wings of the slider to parallelism, overlying each other as shown in Fig. 7, with the flanged faces directly over each other and spaced apart a suflicient distance to provide guiding channels for the interlocking elements of a separable fastener. A pull member 14 is then attached to the lug 9 in any suitable manner such, for example, as disclosed in Sundback Patent 1,661,144, issued February 28, 1928.

Heretofore, in forming a slider with an integral thickened portion connecting the wings it has been customary to subject the blanks to an annealing operation prior to bending to final form. This annealing operation, however, is objectionable since it softens the guide flanges and makes them less resistant to wear. According to the present invention it is unnecessary to anneal the blanks at any stage of manufacture, since the grooves 7 and 8 formed in the thickened reinforce 6 permit the reinforce to be bent to the necessary extent without fracture, the material flowing into andv tending to close these grooves during bending.

The slider blank is punched from the stock with the flanged face emerging first, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, so that all incidental burrs or fins are formed along the edges of the blank which form the external corners of the slider after it is bent to the final form shown in Fig. 7. This permits the slider to be completely formed before removing the burrs or fins by tumbling. This is highly advantageous for the reason that the steel burnishing balls employed in tumbling'cannot act upon the interior of the slider, and hence any burrs formed on the interior would be unaffected by tumbling and would remain to obstruct the guiding channels of the slider. Also," the tumbling operation may be prolonged without injury to the slider in order to produce a highly polished exterior surface with smooth and rounded corners which is very desirable especially in the case of fasteners employed with light materials which might be torn by sharp edges.

It will be apparent that the present inven reason of the superior finish which can be imparted thereto without affecting the accuracy of the guiding surfaces.

It will also be apparent that, by reason of the elimination of certain operations heretofore required, the simplification of other operations, and the saving in power by reason of the reduced pressure required in coining, the invention not only produces a slider of superior quality, but also reduces the cost of manufacture.

Furthermore, it is to be understood that the particular form of apparatus shown and described, and the particular procedure set forth, are presented for purposes of explanation and illustration, and that various modifications of such apparatus and procedure can be made without departing from my invention as defined in the appended claims.

The invention claimed is:

1. The herein described method of making a slider for separable fasteners which has superposed wings with guide flanges projecting from the opposed faces of the wings, which comprises coining flanged wing blanks from flat metal stock, separating the blanks from the stock, and disposing the coined wings in opposing relation.

2. The herein described method of making a slider for separable fasteners which consists in coining, upon one face of a piece of flat metal stock, adjoining portions conforming to the inner flanged faces of the opposed wings of the slider, blanking out said coined portions together with a relatively narrow centrally disposed connecting web. and bending said web to dispose one flanged face directly over the other with a narrow space between the opposed flanges.

3. The herein described method of making a slider for separable fasteners which consists in coining, upon one face of a piece of flat metal stock, raised portions adjoining end to end and having projecting-flanges along opposite sides thereof, blanking out said coined portions together with a relatively narrow centrally disposed connecting web. and bending said web to dispose one coined .face directly over the other with a narrow space between opposed side flanges.

4. The herein described method of making a slider for separable fasteners which consists in coining, upon one face of a piece of flat metal stock, adjoining raised portions with chamfered ends and with flanges along opposite sides thereof, blanking out the raised portions together with a relatively narrow centrally disposed connecting portion, and bending the connecting web to dispose one coined face directly over the other with a narrow space between opposed side flanges.

5; The herein described method of making a slider for separable. fasteners which has superposed wings with opposed flanged faces and an integral centrally disposed connecting web, which consists in coining the flanged wing faces together with a thickened connecting portion from flat metal stock, blankin out the wings and connecting portion, and bending the connecting portion to bring one wing portion directly over the other with their flanged faces opposed.

6. The herein described method of making a slider for separable fasteners which comprisessubjecting flat metal stock to pressure between coining dies and thereby forming on one face thereof longitudinally spaced pairs of oppositely diverging integral flanges and also a relatively narrow thickened portion centrally disposed with respect to the flanges, blanking 'out the flanged and thickened portions to provide spaced wing portions having side flanges and joined by the relatively narrowthickened portion and bending the thickened portion to bring the flanged faces of the wing portions into opposition with a space between t 1e flanges.

7. The herein described method of making a slider for separable fasteners which comprises subjecting flat metal stock to pressure between coining dies and therebv forming on one face thereof longitudinally spaced pairs of oppositely diverging integral flanges and also a. relatively narrow transversely grooved thickened portion centrally disposed with respect to theflanges, blanking out the flanged and thickened portions to provide spaced wing portions having side flanges and. joined by the relatively narrow thickened portion, and bending the thickened portion about a transverse axis-adj acent the groove to bring thexflanged faces of the wing portions into opposition with a space between the flanges. 8: The herein described method of making a slider for separable fasteners which comprises subjecting flat metal stock to pressure between coining dies and thereby forming on one face thereof longitudinally spaced raised portions connected by a relatively narrow thickened portion and integral flanges along opposite sides of the raised portions,

blanking out the raised and thickened portions to provide a blank having spaced wingportions connected by the relatively narrow thickened portion, and bending said thickened portion to bring the flanged face of one wing portion directly over the flanged face of the other with a narrow space between opposed flanges.

9. The herein described method of making a slider for separable fasteners which comprises coining in a flat metal piece a slider blank having, on one face, spaced flanged portions, together with a narrow raised portion connecting the flanged portions, and on the opposite face. a hollow projecting'lug having thin side webs, cutting the blank from the metal piece, punching out the thin side webs of the lug, and bending the connecting portion to dispose one flanged portion directly over the other with their flanges opposed.

10. The herein described method of making a slider for separable fastenerswhich has superposed wings with guide flanges project ing from opposite wings, which comprises coining from flat metal stock, a blank having wing portions with integral raised flange portions along the opposite side edges thereof, which increase in thickness from the ends toward the center, and bending the blank to dispose one wing portion over theother with the flanges thereof opposed.

.11. The herein described method of'making a. slider for separable fasteners which consists in coining upon one face of a piece of flat metal stock adjoining portions conforming to the inner flanged facesof the opposed wings of a slider, punching the slider blank from the stock in the direction toward which the flanges face, so that any fins or burrs formed are along the edges of the face of the blank opposite the flanged face, bending the blank to bringthe slider wings in opposed relation with a narrow space between opposed flanges, and subsequently removing the fins or burrs.

1.2. The herein described method of making a slider for separable fasteners which consists in coining upon one face of a piece of flat metal stock adjoining portions conforming to the inner flanged faces of the opposed wings of a slider, punching the slider blank from the stock in the direction toward which the flanges face so that any this or burrs formed are along the edges (if the face of the blank opposite the flanged face, bending the blank to form the slider, and removing the fins or burrs by tumbling.

13. The method of making a separable fastener slider which comprises forming a thickened portion on a stripof sheet material,

forming intersecting grooves on said thicksaid wings, to parallelism with said reinforce between them.

15. The method of making a separable fastener slider which comprises forming a pair of wings connected by a thickened reinforce, forming transverse and longitudinal grooves on said reinforce to facilitate bending, forming flanges extending inwardly from the side edges of said wings, and bending said reinforce to bring said wings to overlying position with said flanges directly over each other.

16. A one piece separable fastener slider formed of metal and comprising overlying wings having integral coined flanges extending inwardly from the side edges thereof and formed to guide interlocking members between them.

17. A one piece separable fastener slider formed of metal and comprising parallel wings having overlying flat-faced coined flanges extending inwardly from. the side edges thereof to stiffen the slider and having the inner edges of said flanges formed to guide interlocking members between them.

18. A one piece separable fastener slider formed of metal and comprising parallel wings inwardly connected by an integral thickened reinforce, overlying coined flanges extending inwardly from the side edges of said wings to stifien the slider, parts of said reinforce and flanges being formed to provide diverging channels. 7

19. A one piece separable fastener slider formed of metal and comprising overlying wings having coined projections for guiding interlocking members, and an inte ened connecting portion provide with intersecting grooves and bent 'between' said wings to hold them in fixed spaced relation.

20. A one piece so arable fastener slider formed of metal an: comprising overlyin wings having coined side flan as for gui in interlockin r members, an an integral thickened rein orce connecting the wings grooved longitudinally and transversely and bent between said-wings to hold them in fixed spaced relation.

Si gncd at Meadville', in the county of Crawford, and State of Pcnnkylvania, this 10th day of October A. D. 1928. a 7

ROBERT H. NICHOLSON.

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